Former Student Released

FORSYTH, GA. — Genarlow Wilson - the young man imprisoned for committing a consensual sex act who became, for many, an example of inequitable criminal justice - was released from prison Friday after his conviction was overturned by Georgia's Supreme Court.

In 2005, Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. He was sentenced to 10 years with no possibility of parole, the mandatory minimum under Georgia law at the time.

But the state's Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, found that the sentence amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment." And Friday afternoon, Wilson -- a former high school honor student and football star -- walked free from Al Burruss Correctional Training Center after 32 months behind bars, calm and relieved.

"I'm finally happy to see we've got justice," Wilson said at a news conference outside the prison. "It's just a whole new beginning. I got fresh breath, a new life."

Wilson told reporters he planned to attend college and pursue a degree in sociology.

Wilson is black and, like the recent case of six black youths charged in a beating incident in Jena, La., his ordeal became a celebrated cause for civil-rights activists and others who say local justice systems still discriminate against people of color.

On Friday, Southern Christian Leadership Conference president Charles Steele said that Wilson "most definitely" received unfair treatment because he is black."

Wilson's case also highlighted the increasingly strict sex-offender laws that have become common in Georgia and other states.

If his conviction had been upheld, Wilson would have had to register as a sex offender upon his release.

Georgia law would have prevented him from living or loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, day-care centers, parks, churches, swimming pools or school bus stops.

A number of young Georgia residents who have committed crimes similar to Wilson's live under such restrictions. The alleged crime occurred at a New Year's Eve party in 2003 . Wilson originally was charged with raping another girl, a 17-year-old, at the party but was acquitted.

Although some activists have alleged that racism played a part in the case, the circumstances were complicated. The prosecutor, Douglas County District Attorney David McDade, has pointed out that the two alleged victims were black.